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(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 1. H. S. MAXIM. APPARATUS POR WORKING ORDNANGE. q-ol Patented Julie 17, 18190.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. s. MAXIM. y PPARATUS FOB. WORKING ORDNANGE.

Patented June 17,A 1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

APPARATUS FOR WORKING ORDNANCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 430,136, dated .Tune 17, 1890.

Application filed August 22. 1887. Serial No. 247,512. (No model.) Patented in England March 7, 1885, No. 8,019; in France April 10, 1885,110. 168,195; in Italy .Tune 6,1885,N0.18,466;in Belgium .Tune 20, 1885,110. 69,347; in Sweden August 17, 1885,11()I 882, and in Austria-HungaryAngust 19, 1885, No. 35 and No. 1,751.

T0 all wiz/0m, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM, a citizen of the United States of America, and aresident of London,England,haveinvented new and useful Improvements in and Relating to Apparatus for Working Ordnance, (for which Ihave obtained patents in the following countries: in Great Britain, No. 3,019, dated March 7, 1885; in France, No. 168,195, dated April 10, 1885; in Belgium, No. 69,347, dated .Tune 20, 1885; in Austria-IIungary, dated August 19, 1885, No. 35 and No. 1,751; in Italy, dated June 6, 1885, No. 18,466, and iii-Sweden, dated August 17, 1885, No. 882,) of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.'

My invention relates to apparatus for working cannon or heavy guns either on land or on a ship or vessel by the aid of electricity or by hydraulic or other power.

My said invention is applicable to appa-` ratus of that class wherein the gun is supported upon a platform designed to be lowered within an inclosed space, so that the gun can be loaded without exposure of the gunner to an enemys fire, and to be raised (after the gun is loaded) into position for firing en barbed@ or from a turret.

The main feature of my said invention is the provision of means for counterbalancing the gun and its supports, so that a small force will suffice for raising or lowering` the same.

My said invention, Inoreover, comprises various novel features of construction hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown how my said invention may be conveniently and advantageously carried into practice.

Figure 1 is a vertical central section showing my improved apparatus constructed and arranged for use on land. Eig. 2 is avertical central section illustrating a modification of my invention.

Like letters indicate corresponding in these two figures.

A is a pit, which is formed in the ground, and the bottom and sides of which are lined with concrete, as at A', and with brick-work, as at A2.

B is a platform supported by means of col parts umns or standards O upon an ai r-holder D, which is open at the bot-tom and is immersed in water or other liquid contained in the pit A. The standards O are firmly secured at their upper ends to the said platform and at their lower ends to the air-holder D.

E is a gun, which is mounted upon a carriage E upon the platform B and is provided with suitable means whereby it can be pointed and trained or traversed. The holder D and platform I3 are provided with rollers D', which bear against and rotate iu contact with vertical bars or rails F, secured to the sides or walls A2 of the pit A. These bars or rails serve to guide the holder in its up-and-douni movement.

In the apparatus shown in Fig. l a rack G is secured to one of the columns O at one side of the holder D, and is geared with a pinion 1I, fixed on one end of a horizontal shaft I, carried in suitable bearings 1. A worm-wheel K is fixed on the other end of the said shaft, and is geared with a worm or endless screw fixed or formed on the vertical shaft L, which is arranged to be rotated in either direction by an electric motor at M. This motor is connected with any .suitable generator of electricity, and a switch or contact making and breaking device is arranged in the circuit to provide for starting and stopping or reversing the movement of the said motor. One or more passages N are formed between the pit A and the magazine orother place where the ammunition is stored. Rails are laid in each of these passages, and upon these rails is placed a truck for carrying ammunition from the magazine to the gun. The s aid passages are so arranged that when the gun is lowered its muzzle will be in a suitable position to receive the charge and projectile.

The air-holder D is made of such capacity that it will, by reason of its buoyancy, support the whole or the great-er portion of the weightof the gun and its carriage and of the platform B. is such that the air-holder D will be completely submerged whatever position it Inay occupy in the said pit. Therefore, assuming that when it is at about the center of its The depth of water in the pitA IOO into the mouth R of the said pipe, as indimovement its buoyancy is exactly counterba'lanced by, its weight and that of the gun, carriage, and platform, if the said holder is raised above the central position, the mean density or specific gravity of the mass in the liquid will be diminished by reason of the expansion of the air in the holder and the consequent expulsion of some of the water therefrom, and the said holder and parts carrled thereby will have a tendency to rise. If, however, the holder is moved down below this central position, the mean density or specific gravity of the mass will be increased by the compression of the air in the holder and the entrance of water therein, and the said holder and parts carried thereby Will have a tendency to descend. It is therefore evident that the motor, in order to raise or lower the gun, will only require to exert sufiicient force to overcome the friction of the working parts and the slightresistance due to variation in the density of the mass, as above stated, and to lift the extra Weight of the charge and projectile in raising the gun when loaded. It is obvious that instead of using air in the said holder I can, if desired, use any other suitable gas.

The pointing of the gun is, by preference, effected my means of electricity, and for this purpose I prefer to employ mechanism such as that described in the specification accompanying my application for Letters Patent of the United States filed August 22, 1887, Serial No. 247,511.

In the modification of my invention shown in Fig. 2 I provide for the introduction of compressed air into the air-holder D for the purpose of raising the gun and platform. For this purpose I employ a closed chamber or reservoir P for containing compressed air, which chamber is placed in a pit P', lined with brick-work, as at P2. A pipe Q is connectedwith the said chamber and is provided with a stop-cock Q and a nozzle Q2. This nozzle extends into the funnel-shaped end or mouth R of a pipe R, which is provided near this end with a stop-cock R2, and which has itsother end extended upward within the pit A into the air-holder D and above the highest level to which the water is permitted to rise in the said holder.

D2 is a cap or casing, which is secured to the top of the holder D to provide an inclosed space for the reception of the end of the pipe R when the said holder is lowered. The stopcocks Q R2 are provided withv levers q fr, which are coupled to a rod S, passed through a hole in a supporting-plate S and provided with a handle S2. By pulling up this rod the said stop-cocks can be simultaneously opened and by releasing or depressing the said rod the stop-cocks can be simultaneously closed. When the said stop-cocks are opened, a jet of compressed air from the chamber P will be forcibly directed through the nozzle Q2 into the pipe R and will induce a current of air cated by the arrows. The said nozzle and the pipe R therefore constitute an injector whereby air can be forced into the holder D under a pressure sufficient to raise `the same and the parts carried thereby. If desired, the said injector can be dispensed with and the chamber P connected by a pipe directly with thev air-holder D; but by employing the said injector I am enabled to effect considerable economy in the use of the compressed air. For instance, assuming that the pressure of the air in the chamber P :is one hundred and forty pounds per square inch and that a pressure of seven pounds per square inch is required in the air-holderD to displace the water in and raise thesame, if air from the chamber P were admitted into the air-holder D at its full pressure, although it would expand to twenty times its volume, yet a considerable quantity of the compressed air would require to be used for raising the gun;

but when the dynamic force of the compressed air issuing from the nozzle Q2 is utilized, as above described, for inducing a current of external air through the mouth of the pipe R a large quantity of air can be introduced into the air-holder D under a pressure suiicient to raise the gun with a small expenditure of the compressed air contained in the chamber P.

T is a pipe ixed in the top of the air-holder D and extending to and through the platform B.A This pipe is provided with a stopcock T', furnished with a lever t, which is coupled to a rod T2. This rod extends to and through the platform B, and has a handle T3, whereby it can be raised or depressed to open or close the stop-cock T. The portion of the pipe T within the holder D is of such length that the lower end of thesaidpipe is a short-distance above the level of the water in the said holder when the latter is in its highest position.- When the cock T is opened, a portion of the air in the holder D escapes through the pipe T, and the said holder is caused to descend by gravity. When the said holder has descended a short distance, the said pipe is closed by the water, and as the said holder continues its ldescent the air remaining therein is slightly compressed and the mean density or speciiic gravity of the mass in the liquid is compressed, so that the said holder and parts carried thereby have a tendency to descend; but to counteract this tendency I provide a closed air chamber or dome v.D2 on the top of the holder D. As the said holder descends, this chamber or dome gradually becomes submerged and increases the buoyancyof the said holder. By employing this chamber or dome I also provide for diminishing the buoyancy of the holder as it rises. The equilibrium or approximate equilibrium of the parts is thus insured whatever position the said holder may occupy in the pit A. The lowering of the gun after the pipe T is closed by the water is eected or continued by the momentum imparted thereto IOO IIO

while the said pipe was open either with or without the aid of gravity, according to whether the parts are in absolute or approximate equilibrium.

' To gradually arrest the movement of the said `holder and prevent too violent impact thereof against the bottom of the pit A or against the stop A3 at the top thereof when the said holder is raised or lowered, I make the said pit conical at its lower end, as at A4, and I attach to the sides of the said pit a ring or annular piece A5, which is conical in transverse section. During the latter part of the downward movement of the holder D the space for the passage of water between its lower edge and the conical part A4 of the pit A is gradually contracted, thereby increasing the resistance to the downward movement of v the said holder. In a similar manner, during the latter part of the upward movement of the said holder, the space for the passage of water between its upper edge andthe conical ring A5 is gradually contracted, thereby increasing the resistance to the upward movement of the said holder.

lVhat I claim isl. The combination, with a cannon and its carriage or supports, of a vertically-mow able counterbalancing air or gas holder submerged in a pit of water or other liquid, and upon which the cannon is mounted, and mechanism for moving the holder to different levels in the water, and thereby adjusting the level of the cannon, as set forth.

2. The combination, with a vertically-movable air or gas holder open at the bottom and immersed in a pit partially iilled with water or other liquid and a cannon with its carriage or supports mounted on the said holder so as to be always above the surface of the water, of a device for increasing or diminishing the air contained in the holder, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, with an air or gas holder with an opening in the bottom and immersed in a pit or receptacle filled or partly filled with water or other iiuid in which it may rise or descend and a gun or cannon with its supports mounted on said holder so as to be above the level of the water when the holder is in its lowest position, of an air chamber or reservoir containing air or gas under compression, a pipe or passage connecting the same with the holder, and means for controlling the admission of air into the holder and its' escape therefrom, as herein set forth.

4. The combination, lwith an air or gas holder open at the bottom and immersed in water or other liquid in which it can rise or descend and a gun and its carriage or supports mounted on said holder so as to be above the surface of the waterwhen the holderis in its lowest position in the water, of acompressedair chamber or reservoir connected by a pipe or passage with said holder and an injector for utilizing the compressed air to induce a current of external air and force the same into the said holder, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination, witha gun and its carriage or supports, of a submerged and vertically-movable air-holder open at the bottom and supporting said gun above the surface of the water, the holder being formed with a smaller air chamber or dome on its top, which in an elevated position of the holder projects above the level of the water or other liquid, as set forth.

6. The combination, with a submerged and vertically-movable air-holder open at the bottom and a gun and its carriage or supports mounted on the holder above the surface of the water, of a means for gradually arresting the vertical movement of the holder, consisting of a pit in which the holder is immersed, having a conical lower end and provided with an annular piece attached to the sides of the pit near the upper limit of movement of the holder, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

I'IIRAM STEVENS MAXIM.

Witnesses:

RoBr. M. HooPER, DAVID T. S. FULLER. 

